The beauty of Crossfit is that both an athlete's body AND mind are pushed to the brink every single workout... more often than not pushing individuals past the limits they were once held back by. Today begins the start of The Open, a 5 week long competition to narrow down those individuals and teams that will qualify for Regionals. The workouts will be exceptionally brutal and in no way will any of them even be slightly enjoyable. Some people may cry, everyone will hurt and all participants will come out of it better athletes.
 |
| On all fours, on your back, curled in a ball... nothing will be comfortable |
Many people will argue that such a sport is dangerous but instead of letting my disdain towards such keyboard warriors known, I will keep my opinion on their beliefs to myself. Because in the end, for every expert opinion endorsing something you will find another expert opinion denouncing it. And just as there are plenty of shitty globo gyms and personal trainers there are plenty of crappy Crossfit gyms and Crossfit coaches. No matter what your athletic background, college degree, what you read in an article online or what you overheard that one really jacked guy at the gym say, in the end we are all entitled to our own opinions... and as much as you may want to lead a horse to water, perhaps that horse prefers orange juice. So I will refrain from throwing any slander towards "Crossfit haters" in this blog and instead just jot down my thoughts per usual.
I'm not sure why I love feeling pain so much... perhaps because I believe it is extremely beneficial to us... perhaps because I think it's going out of style. People want to be happy in life, that's a natural desire. We want our wishes to come true, we want our desires to become fulfilled with minimal sacrifice. We enjoy laughter, smiles and happy tears. And when we fall and scrape our leg, we cry until mommy comes and makes it all better. We're told that men do not shed tears. We train ourselves to bottle up our emotions, we go to the doctor at the slightest inclination of pain and accept that we should have sore backs by the time we're 50. We give out participation medals so nobody is sad from going home empty handed, we make professional football players apologize for "bullying" each other.
However, in the words of Henry Adams, "Chaos is the law of nature, order is the dream of man."
What's wrong with having scars? What's wrong with being moved to the point of tears? What's wrong with feeling pain? Cavemen didn't go to the doctor when they tweeked their knee or got cut by a Saber tooth tiger... they nutted up, played doctor on themselves and then found that tiger and punched it in the face. An ancient Roman gladiator would never ask his Doctore for a day off because his legs felt like jelly from the previous day's battles or because the emperor called him a useless shit and that hurt his feelings... he just strapped on his gear and stepped into the arena when his time came.
 |
| Every day is "leg day" when you do real work in the gym |
We often times associate pain and sadness with weakness although I personally feel it is more so an opportunity to showcase your strength and personal resolve. When your lungs are burning and you still have 10 minutes to go, do you ease off the throttle or do you turn it up a notch? When you lose your job, do you think "poor me" or do you fight and scrap to keep your family above water? Society loves the underdog and we also love watching people push past their limits. Selling cookies might be a successful fundraiser when you're a cute little toddler but when you become an adult, putting yourself through hell is what sells.
Perhaps that is why Crossfit has gained such popularity... in a world where we try and soften the blows life will deal us, Crossfit keeps us honest. It's barbaric in nature... simple, challenging, threatening to our modern idea of life. No corners are allowed to be cut, no mommy and daddy to ease the pain, nobody to come and whisper in your ear "Every thing's okay now, the bad man is gone". Because the bad man is inside your head... it's you.
Crossfit brings forth the battle between your heart, mind and body which happens every workout and sets it forth center stage. There's no guarantee of happiness or success and the odds are often stacked against you. Society would understand if you fold under the pressure, if you throw in the white towel because it's too tough, too scary. But are you okay with that? Is the inner animal inside of you okay with that?
 |
| Will you let others tell you you're done or will you show them what strength really is? |
We've been wired to operate differently, to stop before our bodies are ready to give out... to not let ourselves even come close to total failure. But safe is kind of boring, especially when science has proven that we quit when we realistically have more in the tank.
Perhaps it's time we stop referring to people as "beasts" when so many of us have all but lost our understanding of our animalistic nature. Perhaps it's time we take it upon ourselves to study said nature and learn how to draw it out of ourselves. Perhaps it's time we start letting ourselves feel scared, feel pain, and in turn, start feeling alive... because it's when we play with pain and stand in the face of death that we feel most alive, it's then that we see who we truly are.
Now don't get your panties in a bunch... in no way am I saying Crossfitters need to be stupid. There are times you should listen to your doctor and take time off, just as there are times you should seek a second opinion, just as there are times you should take a professional opinion and tell to shove it where the sun don't shine. I was once told I'd never pull 100 lbs. off the ground again, that my back would LIKELY wouldn't be able to handle the slightest jog. I currently deadlift almost 600 lbs. and have ran multiple marathons since that diagnosis... I don't say that to brag, I say that to elaborate on the fact that sometimes even experts don't know what they are dealing with. Sometimes, individuals choose to lead uncommon lives.
 |
| We can make excuses or we can defy the odds |
Nobody will remember the athlete that takes it easy during The Open, the one who comes up with excuses for why he didn't do well or didn't perform a certain exercise like he should've. We'll remember the disabled athletes who were once told they'd never walk again squatting with prosthetic limbs, the athletes who grit their teeth and hit a PR at the end of a workout when they're already spent, the ones who collapse on the ground after they finally hear "TIME!" having completely red-lined their body going for one more rep, one more pound, one more opportunity for pain.
The Pain Train has arrived, climb aboard at your own risk.
